The Bad Appendix and Twisted Stuff

A stormy Friday night -

"OWWWWWW! My stomache!" Those are words you don't like to hear when you are ready to go out for dinner.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Jacob grabbed his side. "My stomache hurts. OWWW!"

I looked back at him in the backseat. "We need to go home if you are hurting like that."

"I'm fine. Let's just go eat. I'm okay. It quit hurting."

We decided to walk around this new store that just opened trying to decide what to do. We wanted to make sure that Jacob was okay before going into a restaurant. We were walking around the aisles when we heard it again, "OWWW! My stomache." He kept saying that he didn't feel like he was going to throw up, it just hurt.

Steve, my husband, drove to a pharmacy to get Jacob some Mylanta hoping it would help. After the Mylanta, Jacob calmed down, so we went to Shogun's.

He stopped complaining while we were eating. He seemed more concerned about the heavy rain and thunder going on behind him. He laughed and cut up with Steve while we waited on our food.

I have to say, it's fun watching him scoot back from the table when the "fire" blazes. He never forgot his first time of seeing the fire. It scared him so badly that he pushed his high chair back from the table, then fell on the floor. That would scar anybody.

After Jacob chewed his last bite, he yelled, "I have to go to the bathroom bad!" Steve took him, but they came back quickly. Poor Jacob had thrown up everything from the whole day. He and I went outside to wait for Steve to pay and he asked, "What's a varmit? I think that's what I just did." He's so funny.

When we got home, Jacob played with his army men. He told me that he hurt just a little. I called my friend and asked about appendicitis but she told me that a virus is going around.

Jacob seemed fine, but I was still concerned with the right side pain. But you never know. You always seem to hear, "There's a virus going around."

Jacob slept fine all through the night. In the morning, I heard him crying in his sleep. I woke him up and being, Jacob, he wanted to eat. Two chocolate donuts. His favorite. Once again, I asked him where he hurt and he pointed to the same place. The lower right side.

Steve said, "Take him to the doctor now!" Off we go.........

After the doctor examined him, she looked at me and said, "I'd advise you to take him to the ER immediately." Ugh. ER. Appendix. My baby. Why?

I never EVER wanted to go back to that hospital after the way they treated my mom last year. Last July a year ago. Ugh.

Fear engulfed me. My mind raced the whole way to the hospital. I was shaking and started to panic. I had nausea. I took deep breaths and prayed. "I can do this. I can do this for Jacob." I kept saying in my mind. The drive to the hospital was long and gloomy.

First thing they did to the poor guy was give an IV. Oh, me. The terror in his little eyes. The screams and pleading of, "My stomache doesn't hurt anymore, I promise!" It's more than a Mom can handle. Steve and I calmed him the best we could. Once the morphine set in, the boy was comical. The nurse told Jacob that he'd tell the truth about anything. He told off on himself and Steve for sneaking food when I take a shower. Goodness. Laughter. Calming down. I pushed away my issues to focus on my child.

The CT scan was next. He liked that because he told me that it looked like the medical ship in Star Wars. I pointed to the guy standing there, "But that's not a medical droid." Jacob laughed. The guy snarled at me and said, "I'm a Star Trek fan." I almost said, "Yeah, I can tell."

After the scan, we go back to the room to wait some more. Within 15 minutes, they said, "His appendix is swollen and we need to operate." Jacob started crying and screamed, "But I don't want a shot!" I said, "How soon?" "One hour." ONE HOUR????????? All of a sudden I had a stabbing pain in my appendix. No joke. I wasn't even thinking of myself, but I guess it was sympathy pains. I always thought that was a joke! That's the first time that ever happened to me and I hope it never does again. Steve kept telling me that sympathy pains are real. But why do they hurt?!

I sent out texts to some prayer warrior friends, then I put it on FaceBook for everyone to pray.

The time had come. Breathe deeply.

We prayed with him and I assured him that I would be there when he woke up. I don't dare let him see the tear in my eye.

I'm walking behind him as they wheel him down the hall. I see his little head laying there so still. I almost ran to the bed and screamed, "No! Don't take him! Don't do this!" Sorry, but the thought crossed my mind.

We stayed with him in the operating room as long as we could. After he had the "feel good" stuff, he was fine and no longer scared. They put us in a room across the hall and told us that they'd call. They called us when the doctor started, halfway through, and when he's finished. The nurse said, "He found some weird tissue." Strange. Weird tissue?

Relief swept over me when I saw the doctor and he assured us that everything went well. The appendix was swollen, and the weird tissue was "twisted." Twisted tissue. Sounds like a rock band? So the twisted tissue caused other tissue to die. The doctor removed it and sent it off. Then he tells us that Jacob's gall bladder is already hardening. Aye ai ai. Poor kid!

The doctor took pictures of Jacob's insides and it's gross. Gross is the only word to say.

Joy swept over me when I finally saw him. I hugged him tightly. They made us spend the night for observations. I didn't care at that moment, I just cared that all was well with him.

Jacob did great during the night and the next day. Now he's recovering nicely and taking advantage of his situation, like any kid would. I shower him with hugs and kisses as we watch Disney channel all day long. My Jacob. Back at home. Life is good.